『新东方在线托福阅读』为托福考生准备了ETS托福TPO/Official 50 Passage 1阅读练习：The word “onset” in the passage is closest in meaning to真题题目及答案解析，TPO/Official 50 Passage 1阅读原文范文音频翻译

托福TPO/Official 50 Passage 1阅读原文The word “onset” in the passage is closest in meaning to题目答案及解析-新东方托福官方网校手机版

在美国，铁路超越了运河从前的重要性，成为运输革命第二阶段的先锋。

In the United States, railroads spearheaded the second phase of the transportation revolution by overtaking the previous importance of canals.

19世纪中期，美国铁路开始大量扩张。

The mid-1800s saw a great expansion of American railroads.

密西西比河以东的主要城市通过铁轨组成的“蜘蛛网”相连。

The major cities east of the Mississippi River were linked by a spiderweb of railroad tracks.

芝加哥的发展说明了这些铁路网的影响。

Chicago’s growth illustrates the impact of these rail links.

1849年，芝加哥是一个只有数百人的村庄，几乎没有铁路服务。

In 1849 Chicago was a village of a few hundred people with virtually no rail service.

到1860年，它已经成为一个拥有10万人口的城市，有11条铁路为它服务。

By 1860 it had become a city of 100,000, served by eleven railroads.

芝加哥北部和西部的农民不再需要将他们的谷物，牲畜和奶制品沿着密西西比河运输到新奥尔良；他们现在可以将产品直接发往东方。

Farmers to the north and west of Chicago no longer had to ship their grain, livestock, and dairy products down the Mississippi River to New Orleans; they could now ship their products directly east.

芝加哥取代新奥尔良成为美国主要的商业中心。

Chicago supplanted New Orleans as the interior of America’s main commercial hub.

东西方向的铁路线刺激了中西部人民的定居和农业发展。

The east-west rail lines stimulated the settlement and agricultural development of the Midwest.

到1860年，伊利诺斯州，印第安纳州和威斯康星州已取代俄亥俄州，宾夕法尼亚州和纽约成为主要的小麦种植州。

By 1860 Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin had replaced Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York as the leading wheat-growing states.

铁路使农民能够将产品推向东方，从而增加了耕地的价值并促进了更多的人们定居。

Enabling farmers to speed their products to the East, railroads increased the value of farmland and promoted additional settlement.

反过来，农业地区的人口增长引发了芝加哥，达文波特（爱荷华州）和明尼阿波利斯等城市的工业发展，因为新移民需要用木材建造篱笆，房屋和磨粉厂，以便将小麦磨成面粉。

In turn, population growth in agricultural areas triggered industrial development in cities such as Chicago, Davenport (Iowa), and Minneapolis, for the new settlers needed lumber for fences and houses and mills to grind wheat into flour.

铁路还推动了沿途小镇的发展。

Railroads also propelled the growth of small towns along their routes.

伊利诺斯中央铁路与1855年的其他任何铁路相比，都有更多的轨道，它不仅从运输量中赚钱，而且还从房地产投机中赚钱。

The Illinois Central Railroad, which had more track than any other railroad in 1855, made money not only from its traffic but also from real estate speculation.

伊利诺斯州中央政府购买沿线的土地，然后在车站周围布置城镇。

Purchasing land for stations along its path, the Illinois Central then laid out towns around the stations.

例如，选择伊利诺斯州的曼特诺作为伊利诺斯州中心的一站，把这个地方从1854年没有一所房子的十字路口变成了1860年一个有近千人的繁华小镇，到处是旅馆、伐木场、谷仓和磨坊。

The selection of Manteno, Illinois, as a stop of the Illinois Central, for example, transformed the site from a crossroads without a single house in 1854 into a bustling town of nearly a thousand in 1860, replete with hotels, lumberyards, grain elevators, and gristmills.

在南北战争(1861-1865)期间，很少有人认为与铁路相连的中西部是边疆地区，也很少有人认为那里的居民是拓荒者。

By the Civil War (1861–1865), few thought of the railroad-linked Midwest as a frontier region or viewed its inhabitants as pioneers.

作为美国的第一大产业，铁路改变了产业行为。

As the nation’s first big business, the railroads transformed the conduct of business.

在19世纪30年代初期，铁路像运河一样，都依靠州政府的财政援助。

During the early 1830s, railroads, like canals, depended on financial aid from state governments.

然而，随着19世纪30年代后期经济萧条的开始，各州政府取消了过于雄心勃勃的铁路项目。

With the onset of economic depression in the late 1830s, however, state governments scrapped overly ambitious railroad projects.

由于深信铁路给他们带来沉重的税收负担和破灭的希望，选民转而反对国家援助，在19世纪40年代初，几个州修改了宪法，禁止国家为铁路和运河提供资金。

Convinced that railroads burdened them with high taxes and blasted hopes, voters turned against state aid, and in the early 1840s, several states amended their constitutions to bar state funding for railroads and canals.

联邦政府填补了一些空缺，但在1860年之前，联邦政府的援助并没有对铁路提供重大的刺激。

The federal government took up some of the slack, but federal aid did not provide a major stimulus to railroads before 1860.

相反，部分财政负担转移到了想要吸引铁路的农业区的市和县政府头上。

Rather, part of the burden of finance passed to city and county governments in agricultural areas that wanted to attract railroads.

例如，这样的市政府经常给予铁路通行权，授予车站土地和公共资金。

Such municipal governments, for example, often gave railroads rights-of-way, grants of land for stations, and public funds.

然而，铁路网络在19世纪50年代的急剧扩张，使地方政府的融资能力变得紧张，需要转向私人投资，而私人投资向来是必不可少的。

The dramatic expansion of the railroad network in the 1850s, however, strained the financing capacity of local governments and required a turn toward private investment, which had never been absent from the picture.

由于深知铁路的经济效益，居住在铁路附近的个人长期以来一直购买政府发行的铁路股票，同时也直接购买铁路股票，他们经常通过为修建铁路付出劳动来获得回报。

Well aware of the economic benefits of railroads, individuals living near them had long purchased railroad stock issued by governments and had directly bought stock in railroads, often paying by contributing their labor to building the railroads.

但是19世纪50年代的大型铁路需要的资本比这种小投资者所能产生的资本更多。

But the large railroads of the 1850s needed more capital than such small investors could generate.

逐渐地，铁路融资的重心转移到了纽约市，实际上，正是19世纪50年代的铁路繁荣使纽约的华尔街成为美国最大的资本市场。

Gradually, the center of railroad financing shifted to New York City, and in fact, it was the railroad boom of the 1850s that helped make Wall Street in New York City the nation’s greatest capital market.

19世纪50年代，所有主要铁路的股票都在纽约证券交易所进行交易。

The stocks of all the leading railroads were traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during the 1850s.

此外，铁路的发展使纽约市成为现代投资公司的中心。

In addition, the growth of railroads turned New York City into the center of modern investment firms.

投资公司评估了美国较小城市中的铁路股票，然后在纽约市，费城，巴黎，伦敦，阿姆斯特丹和汉堡找到了这些股票的购买者。

The investment firms evaluated the stock of railroads in the smaller American cities and then found purchasers for these stocks in New York City, Philadelphia, Paris, London, Amsterdam, and Hamburg.

通过控制铁路资金的流动，投资银行家们开始在铁路公司遇到困难时通过监督行政重组来影响铁路公司的内部事务。

Controlling the flow of funds to railroads, the investment bankers began to exert influence over the railroads’ internal affairs by supervising administrative reorganizations in times of trouble.

According to paragraph 1, what effect did the expansion of rail links have on Chicago?

According to paragraph 2, one effect of the increased agricultural development in the Midwest was to

The author mentions “Manteno, Illinois” in order to

The word “onset” in the passage is closest in meaning to

According to paragraph 4, how were railroads affected by the economic depression in the late 1830s?

Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

Paragraph 5 supports which of the following ideas about people who held railroad stock?

The word “flow” in the passage is closest in meaning to

Look at the four squares  that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Indeed, the network became so dense that by the 1860s the United States had more miles of railroad tracks than did all the rest of the world.  Look at the four squares  that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

American Railroads In the United States, railroads spearheaded the second phase of the transportation revolution by overtaking the previous importance of canals. The mid-1800s saw a great expansion of American railroads. The major cities east of the Mississippi River were linked by a spiderweb of railroad tracks.  Chicago’s growth illustrates the impact of these rail links.  In 1849 Chicago was a village of a few hundred people with virtually no rail service.  By 1860 it had become a city of 100,000, served by eleven railroads.  Farmers to the north and west of Chicago no longer had to ship their grain, livestock, and dairy products down the Mississippi River to New Orleans; they could now ship their products directly east. Chicago supplanted New Orleans as the interior of America’s main commercial hub. The east-west rail lines stimulated the settlement and agricultural development of the Midwest. By 1860 Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin had replaced Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York as the leading wheat-growing states. Enabling farmers to speed their products to the East, railroads increased the value of farmland and promoted additional settlement. In turn, population growth in agricultural areas triggered industrial development in cities such as Chicago, Davenport (Iowa), and Minneapolis, for the new settlers needed lumber for fences and houses and mills to grind wheat into flour. Railroads also propelled the growth of small towns along their routes. The Illinois Central Railroad, which had more track than any other railroad in 1855, made money not only from its traffic but also from real estate speculation. Purchasing land for stations along its path, the Illinois Central then laid out towns around the stations. The selection of Manteno, Illinois, as a stop of the Illinois Central, for example, transformed the site from a crossroads without a single house in 1854 into a bustling town of nearly a thousand in 1860, replete with hotels, lumberyards, grain elevators, and gristmills. By the Civil War (1861–1865), few thought of the railroad-linked Midwest as a frontier region or viewed its inhabitants as pioneers. As the nation’s first big business, the railroads transformed the conduct of business. During the early 1830s, railroads, like canals, depended on financial aid from state governments. With the onset of economic depression in the late 1830s, however, state governments scrapped overly ambitious railroad projects. Convinced that railroads burdened them with high taxes and blasted hopes, voters turned against state aid, and in the early 1840s, several states amended their constitutions to bar state funding for railroads and canals. The federal government took up some of the slack, but federal aid did not provide a major stimulus to railroads before 1860. Rather, part of the burden of finance passed to city and county governments in agricultural areas that wanted to attract railroads. Such municipal governments, for example, often gave railroads rights-of-way, grants of land for stations, and public funds. The dramatic expansion of the railroad network in the 1850s, however, strained the financing capacity of local governments and required a turn toward private investment, which had never been absent from the picture. Well aware of the economic benefits of railroads, individuals living near them had long purchased railroad stock issued by governments and had directly bought stock in railroads, often paying by contributing their labor to building the railroads. But the large railroads of the 1850s needed more capital than such small investors could generate. Gradually, the center of railroad financing shifted to New York City, and in fact, it was the railroad boom of the 1850s that helped make Wall Street in New York City the nation’s greatest capital market. The stocks of all the leading railroads were traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during the 1850s. In addition, the growth of railroads turned New York City into the center of modern investment firms. The investment firms evaluated the stock of railroads in the smaller American cities and then found purchasers for these stocks in New York City, Philadelphia, Paris, London, Amsterdam, and Hamburg. Controlling the flow of funds to railroads, the investment bankers began to exert influence over the railroads’ internal affairs by supervising administrative reorganizations in times of trouble.